Bouquet of Sentiments
by pieroki
Summary: In a bouquet, if only flowers with strong colors were placed, the colors would clash which is why there must be a filler flower that ties all the colors together. Yanagi was the Baby's Breath amidst the vibrant hues of blues, reds and yellows. Afraid of disrupting the harmony, he could only watch enviously as these colors shuffled around, competing for the center. OCx?
1. Chapter 1: Daisy

_Daisy_

Luck. It determines the percentage of critical hits, the chance to miss an attack among other factors but most people decide to ignore this stat because they deem other stats like INT, STR or DEX more important. In real life, it's a skill that's desired by gamblers but also for the everyday working human who wants to take a chance at the lottery and for students who forget to study for their exams. As a man who often used data to his advantage, Yanagi Renji hated the concept of luck. It was a seemingly non-existent force, an excuse that people used when situations turned bad for them. He believed in effort, practice. If you put in the time and work, your efforts would not betray you, or so he thought. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to believe that such a trait could determine his life but somewhere deep inside it irked him. Luck was something that he could not control, no matter how much effort he put in. Proportions and probability were based off empirical data but there was no basis for luck. Things like luck were all predetermined, decided even before he could do anything. So in a situation where all the factors have been decided, what would hard work even accomplish?

"Renji-kun, you coming?" A head popped out of the side of the door.

Yanagi Renji raised his head out of the books slowly, as if he was being cautious of all the information stored in his head and smiled gently at the young girl who had come to pick him up. She's 10 seconds earlier than I expected, he noted in his head.

"You can go first, I'll be there soon," He answered, calmly packing the books he had borrowed from the library, unfazed by her presence. Since when had he become so used to her, he wondered. The first time he met her, he honestly thought that they would not get along. Like two clashing colors on the color wheel, she was too flamboyant for him, her exaggerated actions, the way she spoke and especially her transparency. If he had to pick a color to describe her, it would be a shade of scarlet. On the other hand, he was more on the mellow and quiet side. Truthfully speaking, he tried to stay away from her as much as possible because he disliked obnoxiously loud people who attracted unwarranted attention.

"I can't," The girl took a step inside the classroom and let out a big sigh, clearly annoyed, "I was ordered by Gen-kun to get you,"

Her silhouette blocked the sun that was coming in from the door and caused a shadow to form on Yanagi's desk. Instinctively, he raised his face to look at her. At his sudden eye contact, a slight frown lingered on her face.

"All Gen-kun does is order me around, really, how are we even friends? Our personalities clash too much," With a slight hop, she sat on the desk adjacent to his.

As she waited for him while kicking her legs on top of the table, Yanagi analyzed her once again to make sure that he did not miss even a little bit of detail that he could possibly collect as data. Although he had thought that he had most of her data recorded, she never failed to surprise him.

Today the sleeves on her uniform were folded which meant she was practicing her lines alone in the classroom again. The backpack she was wearing was filled to the brim, which told him that she had stopped by the library before coming to see him. This piece of information combined with the previous habit of hers made him deduce that she had gotten a new role for a play. Probably a character that she did not fully resonate with, which meant that the general topic of the play was a historical play. Surprisingly, she was wearing a bit of mascara and her bangs were freshly cut, which signaled to him that she was probably going to meet Yukimura today.

"What are you reading?" She approached him without hesitation, getting somewhat bored of waiting for him.

"Probability… and luck," She read slowly, squinting slightly. Scientific books like the ones he read was never her forte, but she read them anyways because she did not want to give off the impression that she was an airhead.

Perhaps it was because she was the president of the acting club, but her zero sense of physical proximity never failed to surprise him. Feeling restless again, she backed away from him and walked towards the entrance of the room again.

"Let's go?" Stopping in front of the door, she turned around to check if he was following.

Finally standing up, Yanagi trailed behind her and the duo left the classroom. As she walked in front him, leading the way, her long black hair swayed behind her. At first glance she seemed like a typical school girl because of her hairstyle which was popular among many students. Despite how feminine she looked, he knew that she was nothing but feminine once you got to know her. But Yanagi knew that she had a special kind of charm that made people look twice which reminded him of the addiction some people had with sweets and cakes. As they walked side by side with her doing most of the talking, Yanagi felt at ease. Although she often complained about how their conversations were usually one-sided, Yanagi enjoyed observing her speak. It was as if he was watching a monologue, with her hand actions and animated reactions.

"I don't understand this character at all which bothers me, but at least this play is a short one… Actually can you help me with it?" She asked him nicely, hoping that he wasn't busy enough to reject her.

"The probability that this is a historical play is 95%," Yanagi commented with confidence.

"…What's the point of talking when you already know everything," She shot him a glare which he softly chuckled at.

Just as he was about to respond, a booming voice resonated throughout the halls.

"What took you so long, Kotori?" It echoed and felt like a slap in the face," Tarundoru!"

Kotori jumped slightly at Sanada's voice and she shuffled rapidly behind Yanagi as protection.

"This is all your fault, I told you to hurry! Now I'm going to get scolded!" She whispered fiercely behind Yanagi as she saw Sanada approaching them.

"It was my fault, Genichiro," Yanagi stepped forward and honestly confessed, causing her to smirk mischievously at Sanada from behind Yanagi.

Seeing the smug look on her face, Sanada's vein popped slightly, but he swallowed the annoyance that was slowly building up. Once Kotori saw that Sanada had given up, she came out of her hiding spot.

"We should hurry, Yukimura's waiting," Sanada said, still slightly annoyed.

Sanada briskly walked, creating a large distance between them as a way to subtly show his feelings.

"Gen-kun, wait up!" Kotori chased after him, forgetting that Yanagi was behind her.

Yanagi maintained his pace and watched as Kotori attempted to catch up to Sanada and get his attention by repeating his name several times. However, Sanada who was used to this by now remained unfazed by her antics.

"Are you mad at me again?"

"Well, when are you not mad? Am I right?"

Yanagi could hear her voice from a mile away because of the way she enunciated words. It was probably a habit that she picked up because of acting. Normally, she had a somewhat rambunctious personality which contrasted greatly with her outward countenance but there were times when her focus kicked in and she became a totally different person. Truly, she was someone that he could have never imagined being friends with to begin with, which is why he felt as if something was off when he was with her.

* * *

Happy Valentines day! I'm pretty much a ghost when it comes to writing, but here I am with something new! Hope you like it and feel free to leave me a review to let me know what you think! Hopefully I'll update my story more often than the New Prince of Tennis manga... haha...


	2. Chapter 2: Convolvulus

The sun was still high in the sky despite the fact that a lot of time had passed since school was over. But since everyone had club activities, meeting around this time was normal for them. Sanada exited first, followed by Kotori who was still trying to appease Sanada's anger and finally Yanagi who was merely enjoying the scene that was unfolding before him.

At the school exit, a person stood waiting for them patiently while looking at the scenery.

"Sei-kun! Sorry I took so long," Kotori rushed over to where he was standing, stopped a few steps before him and fixed her bangs. Although she was somewhat manly, she still cared about the way she presented herself to others.

Yanagi, who had caught up to Sanada and the others, observed as Kotori shuffled nervously around Yukimura, acting completely different to how she treated both him and Sanada. There was a softness to her voice that wasn't present before and it was as if someone splashed a bucket of cold water on a campfire, which caused the smoke to rise slowly. Maybe it was the effect Yukimura had on girls, but Yanagi thought that it was especially interesting to see. It was through these interactions with others that he was able to obtain valuable information because it was a side of her he would never be able to see.

"H…how was practice?" Kotori stuttered, fiddling with her hair. Her mind seemed to shut down when she saw him and she reverted from a human to a cavewoman.

"It was good. Did you have rehearsal today?" Yukimura casually continued the conversation, pretending to be oblivious to her nervousness.

"Yeah," Her eyes widened at his question, "How did you know?"

"You smell a little like paint," He let out a carefree laugh.

"W…what? Really?!" She flailed her arms above her to try to dissipate the smell as her face turned into a reddish pink color.

"Don't worry, you're still cute," Yukimura assured her while patting her head. Whether or not Yukimura was teasing her or being honest was always an enigma to her.

Although they had been going out for what she considered a long time, Kotori still was not used to the way Yukimura would boldly say these lines without flinching. It reminded her of the way he had abruptly asked her out because even she could have never imagined the captain of the tennis team to harbor such feelings. Did tennis freaks even have time to have feelings? Often times, she wondered if she was good enough to be standing next to him like this. He was too nice to her, which made her worry about her dating capabilities. Once she got a boyfriend, she vowed that she would not act like those lovesick heroines but when it actually happened, she discovered that she was not able to control herself. Dating was certainly not like how it was written in the books.

"Ah, it seems like everyone's gathered," Yukimura looked behind her to see that his friends were standing behind them, adverting their gaze from their cringeworthy conversation, "There's somewhere I have to stop by today,"

* * *

Recently, the four of them had started walking together after club activities, all for different reasons; Kotori because she wanted to spend more time with Yukimura, Sanada because Yukimura had convinced him, Yanagi because of the opportunity to collect more data, and Yukimura because he wanted everyone to get along. They almost seemed like a family to outsiders. Sanada was always chiding Kotori for her behavior while Yukimura would interfere whenever matters got too out of hand and Yanagai merely watched with a slight smile on his face.

When they arrived at their destination, Kotori was slightly shocked and tried her best to keep her expression a secret, afraid she was being rude.

"Why are we at a hospital?" She asked, masking her curiosity.

No one answered and the wind rustled through her hair as the silence ensued. Her eyes darted from Yukimura to Yanagi and then to Sanada, who adverted his eyes.

"I'm going in for a quick checkup," His smile never left Yukimura's face as he answered which threw her mind into a myriad of questions.

Unsure of how to respond, all she could mutter was an, "oh,"

Sanada tilted his head back to whisper to Yukimura, "Why are you doing this?"

Yukimura responded quietly with a hint of sadness on his face, "She'll have to get used to this place… Take care of her while I'm gone, Sanada,"

As this exchange was happening, Kotori tried to read Yanagi's face for a clue as to what was exactly happening. The once cheerful mood had dropped exponentially into a solemn one and it seemed like everyone except her knew what was going on. It was at times like these she was jealous of Yanagi's ability to analyze and deduce what was going on. But his face was devoid of any emotion which started to worry her more and more.

Cutting the mood with his nonchalant voice, Yukimura announced, "I won't be long, could you wait here?"

Before Kotori could respond, Yukimura walked towards the tall automatic doors which seemed to lead into another realm. Without looking back, he continued walking inside until she could not see him anymore. Although the hospital was a place that was supposed to cure patients, to Kotori it was as if the building had engulfed Yukimura completely. All she could do was helplessly watch his back getting smaller. The white walls contrasted with his blue hair which for some reason looked greyer than before.

The trio stood there for a while until she asked, "Shouldn't one of us go with him?"

"He said it wouldn't take too long, just listen and wait," Sanada firmly spoke while crossing his arms.

Discovering a nearby bench, Kotori sat down with a plop while Yanagi and Sanada towered over her awkwardly. Kotori, who always served as the mood maker was silent for once and fiddled with her bangs. Yanagi, who immediately took note of this, knew that she was deeply contemplating something and sensed worry emanating from her.

"I'll go buy some drinks while we wait," Yanagi suggested, trying to dissipate the murky atmosphere.

But before she could protest, he was already gone. Sanada watched as she continued to act strangely, and the words of Yukimura echoed in his mind, "take care of her,". His eyes closed as he racked his brain to look for something he could say in this situation. Not one to have much experience dealing with the other gender, it took him quite a while.

Sanada let out a deep breath as if to calm himself, and sat down on the bench next to Kotori. Females always seemed to confuse him in one way or another, which is why he disliked dealing with them but for the sake of his friend, he was willing to make sacrifices.

"It'll be okay," He placed his hands on his lap and closed his eyes.

At Sanada's words of encouragement, her ears perked, only to droop once more.

"Yeah, I guess," Kotori was the type to be entrapped in her own world and it was difficult to come out once she was already in her zone.

She wondered how much she actually knew about Yukimura. There seemed to be a large disparity between the Yukimura she knew and the Yukimura he actually was. Besides the time that they spent together, they never really discussed things like their past, who they were, what they aspired to be. It just never came up in conversation, and even without it they were happy so was there really a need to bring up topics that would just bring them sadness? They were merely lucky enough to exist in the same period and amidst all the people they had met so far, fall in some wondrous miracle called love. Much like stupid teenagers, she was solely focused on the present. His mysteriousness was a trait that piqued her curiosity at first and before she knew it, she was in too deep to be saved. However, she never felt that he purposely hid things from her because she trusted him. Maybe a little too much, but when she was with him, she felt a sense of serenity she never felt from others.

"He cares for you, so he wouldn't do anything to hurt you," Sanada spoke calmly, remembering a line from a book that he read. Sure he had cheated a little bit, but he was at a loss of how to handle this situation. He was an outsider, what right did he have to meddle with their relationship?

"That's easy to say when you know everything that's going on," She snapped, unintentionally, her thoughts getting the best of her. As soon as the words rushed out of her mouth, she regretted it. She hated this ugly side of her that came out whenever adversity struck.

Sanada who was shocked at her accusatory tone, whipped his head to the side and glared at her.

"S…Sorry, I don't know why I said that," Kotori stuttered, her hands rapidly moving to explain herself.

"You know me, I just, become so zoned in on the feelings that I can't think straight and everything just comes flowing out of me and…" Her voice quickened, her mind moving at a mile a minute.

Sanada stared at her, watching her thought process play out in front of him.

She took a big breath and spoke, accumulating all her thoughts together into a coherent idea, "I guess I'm just insecure? I mean, look at him. Honestly, sometimes I see him in the hallways and I hesitate to call out to him. It's like I have to double check to make sure that we're actually dating and it's not me hallucinating. He's good to me and for that I'm glad but there's a wall that surrounds him. That strong, confident captain that always seems to be moving forward by himself. How can I get him to turn around and realize that I exist?"

As she poured her heart out to Sanada, the words that she was saying resonated with how he felt. And him, more than others, knew exactly what she was feeling. The desire to support, the frustration of watching someone advance while you were stationary, it was an emotion he knew all too well. For he also at times wanted to grab Yukimura by the shoulders and scream to him, "I am here, we are here, the tennis team is here for you,".

At Sanada's silence, Kotori laughed loudly.

"Ah, what am I saying, I can't believe I said that," She scratched the back of her head embarrassingly.

"Forget I said that!" She stood up from the bench and flicked Sanada's forehead, trying to make his brain release the memory.

The pain rushed into Sanada and his forehead started to turn red. He put on his default face, the glare. The look on his face egged her on and so she snatched Sanada's hat from him and placed it on her head.

Covering her face by pulling the cap downward with her right hand, she said in a cool tone, "Well it can't be helped, I guess I'll just have become someone he can rely on,"

Sanada could see the tips of her smile peek out through his cap and it was then he realized how much of a hypocrite she was.

She struck a strange pose and turned the cap backwards, "Hey, wasn't I cool? Maybe next time I'll audition for a hero role or something,"

His expression instantly turned sour and lost all the respect he had for her in a second. He regretted sympathizing with her a moment ago. Sanada stood up, not saying a word and stomped toward her. He loomed over her like a giant and glared directly at her.

"W…what?" She backtracked nervously, "Are you mad at me again or something?"

He put his hand out, and motioned to his cap on her head with his finger.

"Oh, look its Renji-kun!" She yelled and dashed under his arms, barely scraping past him.

"Renji-kun, look! Gen-kun gave this to me to cheer me up!" Jumping around like a child on Christmas, she proudly bragged about her spoils from war.

"Genichiro did?" Yanagi looked puzzled as he handed her a peach tea, "How nice, maybe he has finally warmed up to you,"

Kotori turned around and flashed Sanada a thumbs up which for some reason irked him even more. In no time, she had reverted back to the Kotori that he knew and for that he was not sure was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I'm just kidding," she admitted sheepishly and darted back towards Sanada.

"Here," Holding the cap in both hands, she pushed it towards him.

"But, all jokes aside, thanks," She gave him a genuine smile and returned to Yanagi's side.

Yukimura's voice cut though all the noise, "Looks like you guys are doing fine without me,"

At his return, Kotori's eyes darted to Sanada's and she put a finger on her lips, signaling to him that their conversation should remain a secret.

"Ah, here this is for you," Yanagi handed Yukimura a drink.

"You bought one for me too?" Yukimura asked, surprised.

"Of course, there was an 87% chance you were going to come back before me," Yanagi explained with confidence, knowing his data would not betray him.

Kotori stood by Yukimura's side, smiling as if nothing had ever happened. Perhaps it was the actress in her but the swiftness of her mood change was unbelievable to Sanada. It was only a couple of minutes ago when she was confessing her insecurities, and now there she was, as confident as ever.

The more Sanada looked at them, the more he realized that they did indeed belong together. She complained about Yukimura's capability to move forward but she was the same way, they were of the same kind. That line disguised as a joke was proof of it. As quickly as a link was created between them, it broke. As he watched the couple from afar, it was as if she was taunting him to hurry up and come catch up to them.

"What a hypocrite," Sanada smiled lightly.

"What?" Yanagi said while handing Sanada a sports drink from the plastic bag. This was a rare sight so Yanagi made quick note of it in his mind. Sanada was smiling, Yanagi repeated in his mind. But why?

"Nothing," Sanada replied, his smile gone. He opened his sports drink and chugged it down in one gulp, as a proof of acceptance of this challenge.


End file.
